BANGOR – Several Bangor-area agencies have joined to plan activities and events to mark Mental Illness Awareness Week, beginning Sunday, Oct. 3.

The goal is to educate the public about mental illness and to decrease the stigma associated with these biologically based diseases.

A kickoff walk is scheduled to start at noon Sunday at the OHI facility at Twin City Plaza in Brewer.

Free education presentations are scheduled throughout the week and an open mike night will wrap up the week’s events beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, at the Old Brick Church at the corner of First and Union streets in Bangor.

For walk registration forms and a calendar of events, visit online www.mentalillnessawareness-me.org or call 947-0366, ext. 260.

Among the organizations that are sponsoring the events are OHI, Community Health and Counseling Services, Acadia Hospital, Bangor Mental Health Institute, the River Coalition and NAMI-Maine.